An easy Mezcal cocktail made with just 3 ingredients including pineapple juice and carbonated white grapefruit juice. It’s a delicious twist on a margarita or a mezcal sour. Add the seasoned salt rim for a festive party drink any time.

Have you heard about the latest trend in spirits? Say hello to Mezcal, aka Tequila’s smoky-flavored cousin. This is NOT your frat-party-worm-in-the-bottle Mezcal, though.

WHAT'S IN THIS GUIDE?

Easy cocktail recipe

This drink recipe has amazing depth of flavor with sweet pineapple juice, white grapefruit soda, and smoky Mezcal liquor. It’s sweet, it’s sour, it’s smoky, and it’s sensational!

As I mentioned above, don’t waste your money or taste buds on “cheap” mezcal with the worm (larvae actually) floating in the bottom. Just like tequila, you want a good quality bottle of Mezcal that you can also sip on.

I think Los Amantes Joven is the best Mezcal for cocktails. I picked it up based on it’s very high rating – “an example of the very best in its class” – and it does not disappoint!

Why You’ll Love It

This cocktail has a slightly sweet, smoky, and citrus flavor profile that’s a party favorite!
It’s similar to a margarita in the way it has a citrusy, not-too-sweet flavor. It’s the kind of drink you want for a fiesta happy hour, a cocktail party, or for sipping by the pool.
The balance of flavors from the sweet pineapple, and tart pink grapefruit marries beautifully with the smokiness of the Mezcal.

RELATED: If you love pineapple drinks, you’ll love my pineapple martini recipe.

What Is Mezcal?

Mezcal has become popular recently for it’s small batch, high quality, complex flavor that can be sipped and savored over ice, or mixed into sophisticated cocktails. It comes from Mexico, of course, so it makes fantastic Mexican cocktails for a Cinco de Mayo party or Mexican theme dinner party.

Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of this liquor is its smoky flavor. That idea appealed to me very much since I don’t tend to drink overly sweet or “girly” cocktails.

How to Make It

When I saw Pati Jinich’s demonstration of a spinning top cocktail, I knew I wanted to create my own version.

I tweaked a few of the steps and came up with this “spin” on the Spinning Top recipe.

Get the best bottle of Mezcal you can afford. IT MATTERS!

Start by combining the spicy rim salt. It adds so much to the cocktail experience. It includes salt, sugar, and chili powder.
Pour in regular pineapple juice that you find in the canned juice section.
Use pink grapefruit soda that’s carbonated. This gives the drink a nice fizzy-ness that I love so much.
Add lime juice to a shallow bowl or saucer; add salt mixture in a separate shallow dish.
Dip the rim of a glass into lime juice and then into the salt mix. Add ice to the glass and mix in the cocktail ingredients.
Garnish with a sprig of thyme if you like. Sip and enjoy.

More Mezcal drinks to try

If you appreciate the high quality and unique flavor of this liquor, you’re definitely going to want to check out these other recipes.

You’re going to love this light Mezcal margarita recipe.
My sweet & smoky Prosecco cocktail is out of this world good!

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